Morning Glory
by Red Productions
Summary: Takes place after "Among the Free". The long coming of age story of how Luke, Nina, Trey, Matthias, Percy, and Alia adjust into society and deal with with the tragedies of their past. The Talbots have also been hiding a rather game changing secret about something AND someone which could change the way everybody looks at the baron household forever. Rating will change later.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note: Hey guys, it's RED here! Well, holy crud. I never thought I was going to see the day myself, but after seven long years of multiple rough drafts, revisions, and even a few horribly written fanfictions, Morning glory is finally going live to the general public. I'm incredibly excited to show my work to everybody. Constructive criticism and beta readers are highly appreciated. Anyway, I hope you folks enjoy my largely expanded take on the end of the Shadow Children Sequence. Sorry that this first chapter is so short! I'm gonna be doing an introduction like this for all the shadow kids.**_

 __It was over. After multiple decades of battle between citizens and government, the national ban against having more than two children had finally been lifted. New stations across the world blared about it every chance they got. People energetically paraded the streets. The bravery and victories of the rebels who had walked the line between life and death would not go unnoticed by most who had not been living under a rock for the past two decades. But sadly, these victories did not come without their losses. Hundreds upon thousands of people had perished under the government's tyranny. From being malnourished because of lack of basic human needs to the ruthless killing of folks who didn't share the exact same political ideologies as the higher ups in the government. The government's totalitarian society, lead by Aldous Krakeneur and General Terus, had affected people from all walks of life. Luke Garner, one of the third born rebels, was contemplating the implications of said events a week after Krakeneur's impeachment.

One thing Luke knew for sure was that his life was going to be drastically different. That's what he had been fighting for; the right to be treated like an actual human being rather than staying locked away in the family's continually decaying attic. Even though he had battled tooth and nail to have his freedom, Luke didn't exactly know what to do with his newly gained rights. At the moment, he remained out of the education system waiting for evaluations to be done and paperwork to be filled. He had spent the past week watching newscasts on the matter along with meeting new family members he had only heard about from the monthly letters they sent to the Garners. There wasn't really much you could say on the matter besides the fact that it could defiantly be overwhelming at times. From attempting to find a more permanent housing for the now orphaned Smiths to reading pages upon pages of fine print just so he could get an education, you could say that life was rather busy for the newly freed teenager. Personal entertainment and socialization was out of the question. Luke could barely even sit down and relax without having at least one person multiple years his senior yelling at him to do some mundane but necessary task. Though when he did manage to get his hands on some precious free time, he would usually either spend it drawing (which he had found out he was surprisingly good at during his stay at Hendricks), or he would let the thoughts in his head keep him company for as long as he felt it was needed. But there was one thought, or more accurately, one person who absolutely refused to leave the back of his mind. That person in question was his long deceased friend, Jen.

He'd definitely been thinking about all the people he had had the pleasure (or displeasure) to meet on his year long saga. Friends and foes, it didn't matter. All of their names would endlessly flow though his brain. Nina, the independent and practical young woman. Trey, the oldest and most soft spoken who managed to bloom into a true leader. He hadn't really interacted with Matthias, Percy, and Alia that often, but they still managed to show their set of skills in ways Luke couldn't even imagine possible. The wisdom Hendricks gave, Mr. Talbot's stern yet determined attitude; even his own brother, Mark, had played a part in the whole scheme of things. But the girl he had met a year ago, the girl responsible for the immense amount of growth on his part, always lingered. It was an incredibly melancholy feeling knowing that you best friend, the person who yearned for their own rights so much that they would die in the name of having an egalitarian society, wasn't around to see her dream become closer to reality. He had built such a strong bond with Jen (even a little crush, thought there was _no way_ in Hell he was going to tell anybody about that) in the short time that he had known her. And it just stung to not have the privilege of celebrating his victory, **THEIR** victory, alongside everybody. She would never be able to meet Nina, Trey, Hendricks or any of the other rebels that he had befriended during his journey. Jen was just… dead. Luke sighed at the finality of his own thoughts, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change the past. Growing up in a rather religious family, he had always prayed for the Talbots and their ability to heal after the loss of Jen, but sometimes he wondered even if God himself could help ease the pain of losing someone so dear.

Speaking of the Talbots, Jen's step-father had been acting quite strange the past couple of days. Luke had noticed the almost immediate change in demeanor Mr. Talbot had gone through as soon as he heard about Krakeneur's dethroning. The usually stoic man had turned paranoid and impatient. He was constantly on edge as if he was waiting for some sort of important package that should have arrived days ago. Luke noticed him glued to his mailbox, telephone, email, or any other fathomable communication device he could get his hands on at a rate Luke would have deemed impossible if the patriarch of the Talbot household hadn't proved him otherwise. When questioned about his actions, the boy would be met with an all too familiar grimace which was _always_ followed with the older gentleman's usual monotone response:

"You'll find out soon enough".

Whatever was going on though, Luke had a gut feeling that was going to involve him in ways he couldn't even imagine.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

When she was younger, Nina was told countless stories about her grandmother and aunts trips around the country. Vivid scenes of luscious fields, towering skyscrapers, or colossal mountains always followed the extravagant tales told by her nana. No matter how many times Nina was taught about her family's journey through the states, she always ended up in awe, and even a little jealous of their adventures. At the time, Nina couldn't even imagine the sites described to her. The mere concept of leaving her own home had been foreign to her until last year, let alone traveling hundreds of miles away from it. So when had offered her the opportunity to take a cross country car trip from the US capital all the way to her home in Helena, Montana, she jumped on the chance. Crammed inside a rickety van well past its prime along with Matthias, Percy, Alia, Trey, and himself; they drove off into the distance to begin a new, exciting chapter in all of their lives. Unfortunately for Nina, and everybody else in the van, the new beginnings they were hoping for weren't exactly the most… enthralling.

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

" … sir… Um, how long have we been driving?" A groggy voice asked from the back. Nina turned around to face a just woken up Alia. Her brothers ( _Well, sort of. They're basically siblings at this point._ Nina thought to herself.), were still out cold. Percy's glasses were lopsided on his face. How they managed to get _any_ sleep on this trip was a mystery to Nina. " !" Alia repeated, albeit a bit louder this time. No response. Alia continued to repeat 's name until she finally realized that her attempts at getting his attention were futile. The youngest third born slumped her shoulders down in frustration towards her failure to get the driver's attention. Nina noted her friend's problem and reached out to poke the eldest Talbot, hoping for some sort of response. Again, nothing.

She stared at their designated driver, trying to figure out why he wasn't responding. Something seemed a bit… off about his behavior. His usual neutral expression was replaced with one that seemed like a mesh of worry and focus. Nina's eyes diverted her eyes from his face and began to focus on his hands. In her opinion, they were the main giveaway that something was wrong. His knuckles were a ghostly shade as he continued to tighten his harsh grasp on the already fragile steering wheel. A stillness was obvious throughout his whole body in a way which was similar to that of an animal mere seconds before it goes into fight or flight. For the first time in her life, she felt legitimate concern for . Nina had never been a fan of the man's usual phlegmatic demeanor, but she found the sudden change in his attitude unnerving. At this point, she decided it would be for the best to leave him alone for now and talk to him once they stopped for the night.

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

The car ride once again began to get bumpy, making Nina lose focus from their driver. Besides that brief distraction, Nina was still very, very, bored. She glanced at Trey, who was too engrossed in the current book he was reading to even notice Nina. Turning around, she saw Matthias and Percy were still out cold while Alia was distracting herself with some cheap fidget that had bought for her during one of their countless gas station stops. Nina sighed and leaned back into the uncomfortable car seat. Just as she was finally getting into a semi comfortable position, she felt something warm and oddly sticky hit her arm. She shot up immediately; her eyes darting around the SUV to find out what she brushed up against. After a few seconds, her gaze landed on a glossy aquamarine mass. Against her best interest, she picked up the unknown object. It had not discernible texture to it but it was quite malleable to the point that even the pressure of her fingers was distorting it. Nina began to pull on the object only to see it stretch longer and longer until it finally fell apart. She rolled the now two balls of the unknown object in her hands before reuniting the two by squishing them together.

"Are you having fun?" The sudden question made Nina freeze, a leftover reflex from when she was still in hiding. Still startled, she turned around to face Alia, who was playing with a slightly larger piece of the object Nina was examining.

" _So that's what that thing is."_ Nina duly noted as she gave Alia back her piece of the fidget. The younger girl softly smiled at her, "Hey, I didn't mean to scare you," Alia stated quietly. "I just noticed that you seemed kinda bored, so I gave you a piece of putty." Nina's expression softened.

"Well, you could have given it to me by hand instead of throwing it at me," Nina chuckled. "That would've been a lot easier, don't you think?" Alia's cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Yeah, I guess…" She sheepishly looked away from Nina. "Anyway, maybe we could talk for a bit." Nina noticed that Alia was attempting to change the subject, so she went along with it. Plus it sounded like a good idea. It would give both of them something to do.

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Nina asked.

"Well…" Alia averted her gaze away from Nina and squirmed in her seat. "What are we suppose to do now?" Alia's question puzzled Nina.

"What do you mean?" Alia inhaled deeply and sighed.

"I… I mean what are supposed to do now since we're, y'know, free." Oh, _duh._ What else could the question have been about at this point. It's the thought that's been on everybody's minds since the moment they had managed to achieve their freedom.

"For the time being, we can only wait and see. I'm probably not the best person to ask about this Alia, I'm not too informed with these things. Honestly I'm most likely just as clueless as you are." Nina adjusted the position she was sitting in once again; partially out of uneasiness and partially so she could see Alia better. "I think that has already given our family members a basic plan for what we're going to do. Luke with his parents and brothers, Trey with his mom, myself with my aunts and Nana, and the three of you with…"

"Hendricks, we're going with Hendricks…" Alia seemed glum about her realization that the three of them would not be going back to their original caretaker, it's not like they had a choice anyway since their original guardian was no longer among the living. Nina had never gotten a clear explanation on how he passed and she decided now wasn't the best time to ask about it. Even mentioning the topic was a sore spot to the three younger kids and Nina didn't want to open up old wounds by pushing the conversation.

 _Thump_

 _Thump_

 _Thum-_

Everybody in the car was interrupted from whatever task they were doing when the old van came to a screeching halt. All of them were jolted forward by the stop before sinking back into their seats. Percy and Matthias were rudely awakened and Trey's book was flung right into the dashboard of the vehicle. After taking a moment to reorient herself, she looked out the window only to see a small collection of buildings. In front of her, a pathetic looking neon sign dully read "Walker's Motel", the mostly dead lights flickered on and off constantly making the sign that much harder to read in the middle of the night. The buildings themselves were neglected, even in the dark Nina was able to tell that parts of the walls were impacted or just outright destroyed. The shingles on the roof were scarce and scattered, most had either faded or had just fallen off of the motel. The windows visible were stained brown from old age and the whole place just gave off an uncleanly vibe. The five third-borns in the car focused their attention on , who had yet to say anything about their destination. Much to her surprise, Percy was the first one to speak up.

"Er… , sir. I-is this our destination for the night?" Percy glanced out of the window quickly before turning his attention towards the eldest Talbot. turned towards Percy, his expression an absolute blank slate.

"Yes. That's why I stopped here. Now all of you, get out." stated. Percy flinched at his cold yet harsh response but nodded in agreement. The rest of the children took his tone as an indication that they should follow his instructions as quickly as possible. Matthias and Percy scrambled to get the door open while the other three children took their time leaving the van. In Nina's opinion, it was quite humorous to watch the two younger boys struggle to open a sliding car door even with cooperation. however didn't find this nearly as amusing as Nina did. He exited the car and opened the sliding door from the other side, watching the two struggling boys fall onto the gritty pavement. He pulled both boys up by their arms and helped clean the dirt from the fall off of them. As everybody was getting ready to head off to the motel, Percy noticed that one of his glasses frames had completely shattered. He scolds himself internally for being so careless and puts on the glasses. He might as well have the ability to see out of one eye for the time being instead of neither of his eyes. Percy, noting that everybody had already left towards the building, began to run after them. He followed them through the entrance door just as it was about to shut in his face.

* * *

The interior of the motel, much like the outside, was decrepit and filthy. The receptionist room was small and rectangular, the shorter sides making up the entrance and the back of the room while the longer sides made up the seating area and the receptionist desk. The seating area contained a broken down bookshelf with an assortment of aged books. If they had time, he'd make sure to check some of them out with Trey. Pale grey carpet covered the floor of the room. A worn, ripped olive couch and love seat surrounded an oak wood coffee table with an opaque glass top. Gray and red splotches of some unknown substance covered the couch making it look even grimier. The back of the room had two paths leading left and right, the left path being locked with a sign that says "employees only" while the right path had no door blocking it's entrance. The receptionist desk was nearly pinned to the left wall of the room with an assortment of cubbies and a bored looking elderly man behind the desk. He was a tall, dark skinned, lanky man who had clothes far too big for his frame on. His features were rounded and soft. His bald head was dotted with liver spots and his beard was tinted a soot color. The elderly man spoke up when walked up to the front desk.

"Ey, welcome to Walker's, wadday want from 'ere?" His speech was barely intelligible to any of the kids, but seemed to have understood him well enough.

"What do you think? We're here to stay the night, what rooms do you have available?" The elderly man, who Percy assumed was Walker, pulled out a thin book and began to sift through the pages. As quickly as he pulled it out, he slammed the book shut with one hand.

"Ya see… We have t'ree rooms available. A wone bed, a too bed, and a t'ree bed. Would dat suit your liking?" just nodded at his offer, and the two of them began to discuss prices before reaching a compromise. Percy watches as hands off a room key to Nina and Trey before explaining that the boys would be taking the three bed room while the girls would be taking the two bed room. All of the kids nod in understanding and head off towards their respective rooms down the right hall. The boy's room, room 103, was rather clean compared to the rest of the motel Percy had seen. The bedroom had a mahogany wood clothing drawer, three twin sized beds draped with a wool blanket, a small washroom, and a set of chairs for lounging. Percy placed his belongings on the bed furthest away from the entrance and flopped onto it. He noticed Trey rummage through his bag for his pajamas and exit into the washroom so he could change. Matthias hadn't even bothered to take off his shoes and was out cold almost immediately. There was no blaming him to be honest, everybody was exhausted of this road trip and just wanted go home. Percy slipped off his broken glasses and put them on his night stand. They all had their thoughts and concerns and there was no hiding that, but tonight wasn't a night for discussing such matters. The boys exchanged some half-hearted goodnights before shutting off the lights. And as the lights turned off, Percy could feel himself begin to drift off to sleep. There were many things he still need to discover and figure out and once he reached Hendricks he knew that these stressors would begin. However, for now, he was able to relax. Even if it was in some run down motel, not having to worry about his own safety was a brand new and relaxing feeling. Right now, all he had to do was rest. And rest he did.


End file.
